Separated We Are
by Tang Si Ming-Yue
Summary: The world is divided by society and its rankings, and Aang, being the avatar, is forced to marry a high society lady. But when he falls in love with a Water Tribe peasant, can their love hold? Full summary inside. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

SUMMARY: The world is divided by society rankings, the avatar being the highest you could be. And when the avatar becomes of marrying age, he is forced to marry a high society lady. But when the avatar falls in love with a mere Water Tribe peasant, will their love hold? Will the world be thrown into chaos? Or is it possible that they will be separated from each other forever?

A/N: I came up with this story idea in my history class! Yeah, we were watching a movie, I was bored, and I started thinking about the society ranks and stuff in history compared to Avatar. And this story was born! So, here it is!

Disclaimer: Hey Katara, do I own Avatar: The Last Airbender?

Katara: Not that I know of.

Me: …Are you sure?

Katara: Um, yeah, pretty positive.

Me: …Dang it…

**Separated We Are**

Many years ago, in a time long past, the world was organized and divided by society and its rankings. There were the peasants, the servants and advisors to the higher crowd, the soldiers, the nobles, the princes and princesses, and the kings and queens. But highest of them all was the avatar.

The avatar was the most powerful being the world had ever seen. Those in all countries practically worshipped him. Many asked for his advice and gave him gifts, secretly hoping to see him do some of his famous bending.

There was only one avatar at a time, though, and the particular avatar in this story is the one called Aang.

Aang was a skinny, yet muscular boy of 15. His dark hair was somewhat short and his storm gray eyes could hypnotize the Spirits themselves. And, as avatar, he was able to control all elements – water, earth, fire and air – to do whatever he pleased.

And though Aang loved streaming the water and sliding the earth and blowing the wind and making flames crackle, he hated being the avatar.

Being the avatar meant many responsibilities that Aang did not care for. Settling conflicts, stopping natural disasters from hurting the innocent, and other such things that regular people could do if they really wanted to. They just didn't know it and forced it on the one person who seemed most powerful. Being the avatar meant girls swooning at the sight of him, but they didn't love him for being Aang. They didn't know him. They knew his powers.

Of course Aang wanted love, as most people do, but he wanted true love. Someone to love him for him, not his title.

But because of his turning 16 the next day, Aang would be forced to marry some high society lady that he did not love by his highest advisor, Long Feng. And according to Long Feng, they would start looking for a bride to choose tomorrow.

So Aang, with his advisors Long Feng, Iroh, and Jeong Jeong, left that afternoon for the South Pole.

Now, let's turn our attention to a certain person in the South Pole. This person was named Katara and she was a mere Water Tribe peasant.

Katara was a master waterbender, though she didn't use her powers like most women who had her same abilities did. She was a fighter, like the male waterbenders in the tribe, not a healer. If anything were to happen to the iceberg she called home, she'd be there.

This was why some people thought lowly of her. According to them, women were to stay in the house and keep themselves preoccupied with things such as cooking, cleaning and sewing. But Katara paid no heed to what the elder women of the tribe whispered as she passed by, because at least the men gave her respect for the spectacular bender she was. Katara could not exaggerate when she said she was the best waterbender in the South Pole.

Katara was a very beautiful person. Many men – warriors, higher class men, benders – thought her gorgeous. And, seeing as she was 16, she got many proposals of marriage. But, no matter how handsome the man proposing was, she turned them all down. Some she thought of as jerks. Others fellow fighters and friends that she'd never dream of being anything more with. Some she had never even spoken to. They just saw her looks and their male instinct kicked in.

Katara had always been somewhat insulted by this. Never a word to them and they were proposing? Just because of the way her face and body was arranged? Katara wanted someone to love her because they got to know her, not because they saw a pretty face in a crowd.

While Katara was out walking one day, there were many excited whispers surrounding her, though she heard her name nowhere in the conversations. When she finally decided to ask about all the commotion, a woman quickly replied that the avatar, of all people, was coming to meet Princess Yen and possibly become her husband. This meant that everyone else got to get a small glimpse of Aang, the famous avatar.

Katara was different than those folks in town, as you might have guessed earlier. She was happy that the avatar was coming the snowy land they lived in. She was happy that their snot-nosed, spoiled, brattish princess just might get a husband and be led far, far away. But she was not obsessed with celebrities and powerful people. But she did feel sorry for the man, having to meet their wretched princess.

The princess, as you also might have guessed, was not a nice person. She pushed the citizens of her nation around as if they were just another one of her slaves. Innocent were forced out of the way by guards when she walked past and if you said a word to her without being spoken to first, you were thrown mercilessly into the depths of the dungeon. Many thought it was her job as ruler and ignored it all. But some, like Katara, knew her for what she really was.

Katara, now late for her training session, had no time to think upon the matter more. She walked briskly off towards the ocean, her true friend, and began to practice with the other warriors.

These two people, Aang and Katara, avatar and peasant, had no idea that their paths would cross. They had no idea that their destinies would intertwine. They had no idea that it would change their lives forever. But you know. And I know. But I'm the one who knows the details. So, the story begins.

A/N: wow, I'm really proud of that first chapter! By the way, if y'all were wondering, Yen means yearning in Chinese. No one yearns for her, but she's DEFINITLEY yearning for a man! Anyway, REVIEW!!! Or… or… something bad will happen! Oh, you're scared now, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?

Tangy


	2. A Face in the Crowd

A/N: Here is the 1st chapter! I feel so guilty, I should be working on Sokka's Diary, but I couldn't help but write this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! And now, time for the disclaimer!

Ozai: OOOOHHHH!!! PICK ME!!!!!!

Tangy: Hmm… I think Aang's done it already, so has Katara, and Sokka does it all the time…

Ozai: MMMEEEEEEE!!!!! I WANT TO DO IT!!!

Tangy: Zuko and Mai have both done it, though reluctantly.

Ozai: PRETTY PLEASE WITH PINK SPRINLKES AND LOTS OF YUMMYLICIOUS CHERRIES ON TOP!!! PICK ME TO DO IT!!!

Tangy: Ty Lee is too annoying to have do it, Azula might kill me…

Ozai: FOR THE LOVE OF SOZIN, PICK ME!!! FIRE LORD OZAI! MMMMEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Tangy: Ozai's too much of a wimp to do the disclaimer…

Ozai: o.O WHAT?!?!?! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!?!? WHY NOT ME?!?!?

Tangy: Hmm… Toph, how 'bout you do it?

Toph: Gladly. Tangy does not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or any of its characters.

Ozai: NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tangy: What's his problem?

**Separated We Are**

Chapter 1

The colossal ship docked at the harbor in the icy South Pole. An incredibly cold breeze was blowing as Aang and his advisors exit the ship and stepped onto the snowy land.

Aang looked around. The South Pole was impressive, though not nearly as impressive as the North, but incredible all the same. The giant buildings were made of ice. The grounds were scattered with beautiful ice sculptures and fountains. Many people were scurrying about, doing errands and attending to business. Some were catching fish, some bending the tides of the sea, some were children building snowmen. The city was thriving.

But the bustle of the city quickly stopped as one woman shouted, "Look!"

Everyone turned to see the orange and yellow clad man with the blue arrows on his hands and the tip of his forehead. Nobody moved, nobody made any noise, until –

"The avatar is here!"

Almost immediately, the hundreds of people started cheering, applauding. Aang sighed. This was what he hated.

He took a step, then another. He began walking through the crowd. Looking around he saw older woman sighing. He saw men clapping and attempting to shake his hand, and with some, he did. There were teenage girls, giggling flirtatiously, uncontrollably. Aang sighed once more. That was what he had expected. Children stared hopefully up at him, like he was a hero. They thought he was. But Aang knew it was not so.

Another thing he also noticed was that everyone, _everyone_ was cheering. Not one person was not making noise. _Except for that one person over there._

Aang snapped his head back. Never, _never_ had someone not shown excitement while he was there. This person, whoever it was, was different, he could tell. And it intrigued him. So he scanned the crowd, searching for that one person…

And he found himself staring into the eyes of the one, unique, non-cheering person. He found himself staring into the gorgeous eyes of a girl.

oOoOo

All had been quiet in the freezing South Pole. The people were walking about and Katara had been practicing her bending, as usual. That is, until she spotted the avatar standing on the shore.

Katara chose to say nothing. The folk in town would surely find out on their own.

"Look!" someone shouted. Sure enough, everyone was gawking at the avatar by the harbor. And soon, everyone erupted in cheers. Everyone that is, except for Katara.

She stood there in the crowd, watching the avatar walk slowly by. Just watching. He was incredibly handsome, as the rumors said, but she did nothing to show it, nothing to make a fool of herself.

Katara was amazed, though, at the expression on the boy's face. Was it annoyance? Boredom? Disapproval? Was it possible that the avatar, of all people, was one to hate attention?

To her surprise, Aang stopped ambling through the throng and looked out at the people. _What is he doing?_ He seemed to be searching for something. Or, rather, someone.

And then his eyes stopped. He had found the one he was looking for. _He was looking at Katara._

oOoOo

The girl Aang was looking at was beautiful. Her chocolate brown hair was long and tied into a braid and hair loops. Her simple, blue dress complimented thin figure perfectly. And her eyes, the ones he was making contact with… well, they were the best part. Big and a shade of blue that could give the ocean competition, they were sparkling with the glow of the beating sun.

He stood there looking at her, she looking back. The crowd had seemed to notice his not moving and stopped cheering. They waited, waited with bated breath, wanting to know just what he was going to do next.

Aang put his foot forward, ready and determined to talk to this girl that made him feel… something. Something wonderful. But before he could move any further, he was pulled back by Jeong Jeong.

"What are you doing?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I'm going to talk to her," Aang answered, never taking his eyes off the girl in the crowd.

"You cannot waste your time here talking to mere peasants," said Long Feng, coolly.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," said Iroh. This was why he was Aang's favorite advisor. His belief was that Aang should be able to live a normal life every once in a while. But despite his efforts, Iroh was usually outvoted by Jeong Jeong and Long Feng.

"No," said Jeong Jeong. "We must not tarry. We have to be at the palace by midday. We have no time to lose talking to townsfolk."

"I don't want to talk to everyone," argued Aang, getting somewhat annoyed now. "Just that girl."

It was weird, the feeling Aang had in the pit of his stomach. It was as if he didn't talk to the girl, that one particular female, he was going to be stabbed with a thousand knives. And if he did, his heart would forever beat musically.

Why was it the sight of her that did this to him? There were plenty of others here, why her? What made her different? Of course she was beautiful, but there was something more…

He needed to talk to her. Meet her. Get to know her. "Please, if you just –"

_"No,"_ said Long Feng, louder than necessary. "The peasants are peasants. They beg and they are worthless. Let us go, now, people are staring."

Long Feng pushed past Aang who was still gaping at the girl. He knew his controlling advisor was wrong. Peasants were people too, but he was in no place to argue. Iroh and Jeong Jeong knew that the peasants should be treated better as well, but thought it wise to move along. They all knew Long Feng was one not to argue with.

After what seemed like years, Aang pulled his gaze from the Water Tribe woman's eyes and moved after his advisors: the demanding one, the logically thinking one, and the wise, caring one.

The crowd was quiet.

oOoOo

Katara and the avatar gazed into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. She felt tingly inside. It was strange. She had never felt this way before.

Even when the crowd had quieted, even when Aang was arguing with the three men beside him, they never broke eye contact.

Katara loved his eyes. A shade of lovely gray that, somehow, were not dull. They were big and sparkling, full of happiness and care. This man, she could tell, was nothing like Princess Yen.

And though she could stay there forever more, the avatar turned his head, rather ruefully, and walked ahead reluctantly with his advisors.

The crowd was quiet.

Katara felt disappointment flow through her. The warmth that had filled her despite the icy wind had left. She couldn't explain why, but she was sad he had left.

Giving a small sigh, Katara turned and went back to training, despite all the eyes upon her.

A/N: Omigosh, I am SO sorry about the lateness of this! I am also going to try to get Sokka's Diary updated, hopefully by tomorrow at the latest. So keep an eye out!

I really hope you like this chapter, though, despite the amount of time it took to get it updated. I worked hard on it! It wasn't that I had writer's block or anything, it's just I procrastinated typing it up. So sorry, once again! And Sokka's Diary is still alive, I promise! It's not something I'm about to let die!

Oh, and to anyone who can guess who said this quote, I'll mention you in the next author's note, along with the answer! So here it is:

_Jealousy is like Godzilla, your friends being the town._

Good luck! Oh, did everyone have a good Christmas? I did! Have a happy New Year too!

Ozai: I still don't understand, why not ME?!?!?!?!

Me: Just shut up already!!!

Tangy


	3. Blind Nobles

A/N: OHMIGOSH, I CANNOT BELIEVE IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO TYPE THIS UP!! THANKS SO MUCH TO Aryck1095 FOR REMINDING ME!! I feel absolutely awful! I kept telling you I was going to update… But at least I'm here now! In this chapter, we finally meet Toph and the evil Princess Yen! YAY! But let's not dilly-dally! TO THE DISCLAIMER!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' or any of it's contents. Oh, and while we're talking about this, I ALSO don't own a hula hoop… yes, it IS rather sad…

Separated We Are

Chapter 2 (Finally!!)

Aang and his advisors could see the palace now. The enormous building was made completely out of snow and ice. A small moat surrounded the walls. The icy steps were frost covered as was the giant fountain made to look like the moon spirit, Yue. It was incredible to the eyes.

_But not as incredible as her,_ Aang couldn't help but think. Just by looking into her eyes, he felt a connection. He wanted to meet her, talk to her, anything! But it would not be if Long Feng had anything to say about it.

Iroh walked the steps next to him. "I'm very sorry," he said. "I believe I know what you are feeling, wanting to meet her. Only her."

"You do?" Aang questioned. He had been stumped on the matter himself. Why her? Why that beautiful person? "And will you tell me?"

Iroh gave a small, somewhat sad smile. "I'm afraid not," he answered. "I believe you need to figure this out on your own, without the help of us simpleminded advisors. I _will_ say that, if you get the chance, meet her. Talk to her. Whatever presents itself, young avatar."

Aang gave a sigh. Typical Iroh, letting him figure out life all on his own. Life was a giant proverb in his eyes, Aang supposed.

They continued up the steps until they reached the door. Before they could knock, though, the giant door was swung open to reveal a girl with long, brown hair that reached the middle of her back. She wore a very elaborate, elegant purple dress that flowed around her feet and a large string of pearls framed her neck. Aang guessed that this was Princess Yen.

Next to the princess was a girl too short for her age. Her black hair was pulled into a big bun on the top of her head, her long bangs hanging in her face, so that Aang was just able to make out her milky green eyes. _Blind, perhaps?_ She wore a long, fancy dress, though not nearly as costly looking as the princess's, making Aang guess she was lower in rank, a possible noble.

"You're here!" Princess Yen exclaimed. She flung her arms around Aang in a strong, ungentle embrace, thus shocking Aang. She acted as if they were but long lost friends!

She pulled away as quickly as she had come. "I'm terribly excited about your coming!" Yen said. "I just _know_ you'll love it here! Oh, come in, I'll introduce you to my friend here once we're inside."

She pulled Aang inside, Long Feng, Jeong Jeong, Iroh and the blind noble following, though she seemed much more reluctant.

"I'm afraid my mother and father are away at a meeting in the Fire Nation," said the princess as she led them down a long hall and into a room with a lovely fire and comfy-looking chairs all around. "But we'll have the whole palace to ourselves that way. Go ahead, sit! Don't just stand there!"

The way she said this, in that sickeningly sweet yet commanding, mean voice, everyone immediately sat down. Aang noticed that the blind girl seemed very bored, sitting there blowing the bangs out her face to keep occupied. It didn't even seem that she came remotely close to liking this princess! Aang already knew that he didn't as well.

"Now," Yen said, "this is my good friend, Toph." She gestured to the noble. "She's the daughter of an Earth Kingdom noble. She's staying with me until her parents return from a vacation at the Southern Air Temples."

"I'm pretty sure I can introduce myself," snapped the girl known as Toph. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm dumb!"

"It doesn't matter," Princess Yen snapped back, angrily. _Okay, what is her problem? _"I was being a nice host! Now, be quiet and unnoticeable while we talk."

Toph slumped against the back of her chair, her arms crossed, her lips pouted, and her eyes scowling and the incredibly false princess. Aang could've sworn he heard her mutter something along the lines of, "Stupid… princess… brat… spoiled… wish… Katara…"

"Princess Yen," said Long Feng in equal falseness. "It is an honor to be in your presence."

"Hmm, I know. It _is_ an honor," Yen stated simply. Over in the corner, Toph snorted. Aang rolled his eyes unnoticeably. Yen simply ignored this and yawned. "But I know who you all are, you know who I am, and I am tired, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the throne room to rest my weary legs. I'm sure Toph can show you to your rooms."

And with that, she got up and walked out of the small room, swaying her hips as she did so.

Toph sighed. "Come on, follow me," she stated.

Down another hallway they went. Aang was surprised that Toph, despite her blindness, seemed to know her way seamlessly. Had she been here so often that she had memorized where everything was?

"Here's your rooms," she said monotonously, motioning to the doors on her right. "Have fun."

"Actually," said Aang, finally speaking up, "could I talk to with you? My room will be fine." It was a sudden decision, unexpected by Toph and himself, but if he was going to be forced into marriage, he wanted to find out more about the so-called princess.

Toph raised her eyebrows. "Whatever you say, Twinkle Toes."

"Err…" said Aang, furrowing his brows. "Twinkle Toes? What's–"

"I really don't care," Toph interrupted. "And we're using_ my_ room. Come on."

She led Aang down another hall to a room that clearly read "Toph" in elegant characters on the door. Toph practically pushed him in and shut the door behind them, emanating a loud thump.

The room was fairly simple, yet nice. A big bed with green sheets sat in the center of the floor, soft pillows lining the end. A dresser could be found in the corner, not quite large, but not entirely small either. A fire place was opposite the bed, the roaring fire immediately warming Aang in a way he thought impossible since he had arrived on the South Pole, and a little table, with nothing but a candle and a glass of water to it's name, rested by the bed.

Toph leaped onto said bed. "So, what exactly do you want to talk about?"

"What exactly is the matter with that princess?" asked Aang, in a somewhat disgusted tone. Toph's face seemed to brighten. A genuine smile crossed her face at last.

"You mean, you don't like her either?" she asked excitedly, nearly jumping up and down on the bed.

"Frankly," said Aang, "it's quite a possibility that I loathe her! And to think, we've just met…"

"Ooh, just wait 'til Katara hears about this!" Toph said. "The avatar, of all people, doesn't like Princess Sissy! Dang, at this rate, we could start a club!"

"Who's Katara?" Aang asked curiously, the name rolling off his tongue with ease. "And why do the both of despise Yen so?"

"Katara," said Toph," is my best friend. We met while I was visiting here with my parents. She had come to the palace to tell off Princess Fussy-Britches, and we discovered a common interest. You see, Yen thinks she's a gift from the Spirits, and she expects everyone else to feel that way as well. She treats all of her people as slaves. 'Nothing more than low-lives' she says. It's sickening, really.

"She's also heavily taxing everyone at the moment. People just brush it off. They say it's her 'job'. But you and me, Katara and her brother, Sokka, all see her for what she really is."

"Ah," said Aang, earning more information than he had asked for. And while he was asking questions, there was another one on Aang's mind…

"Go ahead and ask," said Toph, practically reading his mind. "I don't mind. I consider us friends."

"No, no," muttered Aang. "I wouldn't feel comfortable…"

"Twinkle Toes, suck it up!" said Toph, rolling her eyes and punching him in the shoulder. It was surprisingly hard for a girl, actually. Aang rubbed his arm, wincing a bit at the pain. "You're with me now," Toph went on. "You gotta learn to not care what other people think! And you wanna know why? Because it doesn't matter!"

Aang stopped his rubbing. Not caring what others thought? As the avatar, it was all about what others thought. It was all about what the people of the world wanted. Aang very rarely got to do things he wanted to do, the way he wanted to do them. If the people wanted him to be mannerful and helpful, he would be that. It was the life he had always known. Would it even be possible for him to act… rude? To speak out of turn? To be spontaneous?

It must have been a longer train of thought than he knew, because before Aang knew it, Toph grumbled and said, "Fine. I'll tell you myself. Even though I'm blind, I can see

because… well, it's simple. I'm an earthbender. I can feel vibrations in the earth, and I know where everything is. Ice isn't _too_ hard to see through, but it's kind of difficult. Like, I know that you're really light on your feet for some almighty Spirit guy."

"That's amazing!" exclaimed Aang.

"Eh," Toph said, uncaringly. "If you think so."

"YEN!!" someone shouted ear-piercingly from the throne room.

"Hey!" said Toph, her grin big and wide. "That's Katara!" She jumped off the bed, landing solidly on her feet. "Come on, let's go watch her yell at Yen! That's always fun to watch. And then you've_ got_ to meet her! You guys would _love _each other!"

"Toph, are you sure we should–"

"_Move!"_ Toph grabbed Aang by the arm and dragged him down even more hallways until they reached the throne room.

"Toph, I really don't think–"

But Aang never finished his sentence. He was mesmerized, entranced, shocked in a way he thought was only possibly in fairytales when he saw just who Katara was.

Katara was the girl. The girl from the crowd.

A/N: DONE WITH THE CHAPTER!! YESSSS!! I'm so happy! And Aang learned who Katara was! Yayness! Once again, I am SSSOOOOOOO sorry about the longest wait in the history of FOREVER! Please forgive me!

REVIEW OR ELSE MY SUMMER AP-ENGLISH PROJECT WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!!

**Lord know that's what it's doing to me…**

Tangy :D


	4. Meeting

A/N: Oh, I'm on top of this one, all right

A/N: Oh, I'm on top of this one, all right! I'm typing this now so I don't have to do it later! YAYS FOR NOT PROCRASTINATING!! I really don't have anything to say, though, so… let's just go to the next chap, shall we? STOP… DISCLAIMER TIME!

Disclaimer: Think about how much money I would have if I owned 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'… now think about what my ACTUAL money got me for lunch today.

A can of meatball spaghettios.

I don't think I'm gonna be buying any fancy, 5-star meals anytime soon.

Separated We Are

Chapter 3

There she was, standing there with an angry look on her face, making her no less beautiful. With her, there was a child. _Oh Spirits, please don't tell me it's hers!_

Yen looked angry as well, though the anger on her already awful face just added to the tragedy. The two girls were obviously not close friends.

"Hey Katara!" yelled Toph, ignoring the obvious tension in the room with a huge grin on her face.

"Hi Toph," said Katara without turning around, too preoccupied with her glaring match.

"What is it _now,_ Katara?" Yen asked wearily, as though this was a regular and horrible happening in her life. "I'm very busy, you know."

"Oh, I know," growled Katara. "You're busy leaving people homeless!" She gestured to the trembling, shivering girl next to her, only about 3 or 4 years of age. "Your taxes have left this girl homeless! She's out on the streets with no food, no warmth, no roof, nothing! _Stop taking money!"_

_She cares…_ thought Aang. _…So much…_ You never met people like that, normally. Nice people, that is. Persons of the world, nowadays, were rather rude and snobbish… take Yen, for example.

It was decided. He had to meet her.

"But I need the money for jewelry and clothes and such," Yen replied simply.

That was just ridiculous.

"_Jewelry?!"_ screamed Katara in outrage. "You can't be serious! Stop these taxes or I will personally make sure you never see another day!" She bended water out of a small, brown pouch on her hip and entered a fighting stance.

She's a waterbender? But that's not the stance of a healer… and aren't all the women here healers?

"You know," Yen yawned, "I'm getting tired of your rather pathetic threats." The princess clapped her hands. Two guards of colossal size immediately came from behind and grabbed Katara before she was able to do anything.

"Lock her up," Princess Yen said to the guards.

Katara started kicking and thrashing, flailing and yelling. "Let me go!" she screamed, but to no avail. Her efforts were wasted.

Toph and Aang watched in terror as Katara was being dragged away, the little girl crying in horror.

"Stop it, Yen!" Toph yelled, angry in every way. "Stop it, now!"

"And just what will you do if I don't?" asked Yen smugly. "It's a tad difficult for you to bend here, isn't it?"

This was too much. _Way_ too much. Aang felt… anger. This wasn't fair! This… this was cruelty! Awful in every way. His heart was slowly being ripped to pieces because of the girl he'd never met before.

Suddenly, the words that Toph had spoken to him earlier rushed back into Aang's head. _Don't care what everybody else thinks… because it doesn't matter! _And before he knew it, he was screaming with all the others.

"_Stop!"_ he yelled with a passion he was rather unaware of. Everyone's eyes turned to look at him. No one had seemed to take heed that the avatar was there.

The girl, Katara, looked at him with raised brows, mouth slightly agape, and staring at him with as much attention as only hours before in the crowd. Yen was shocked until sense got the better of her, and she decided that acting would be a good idea.

"Oh, Aangy!" she cried.

_Aangy?_

She ran over to him, arms wide open, and forced him into yet another hug. "Katara was being _so_ mean to me. I had to do something! Please, don't worry about me, I'm alright!"

Aang pushed her away. "Forget this act, Yen," Aang said harshly. "You think I didn't see? This just proves to me how wretched you are. And you think that there will be a wedding of all things?"

"Woo! Right on, Twinkle Toes!" yelled Toph, cheering him on. "Speak the truth!"

"Aangy," said Yen, dropping her charade. "Are you really doing all this for one peasant? _Katara_ of all people?!"

She humphed and turned away, but not before Aang grabbed her shoulder in a death-grip and whispered to her, "Yes."

"I'm going to my bedroom," Yen screamed. "No one disturb me!" And she stalked out of the throne room, the doors slamming behind her.

The two guards holding Katara captive released her as suddenly as they had caught her. Katara brushed herself off a bit before turning to the two.

"Sorry Katara," said the first one.

"Really," the next one said. "You know we wouldn't do this otherwise, but the whole job thing, and our families…"

"It's alright guys," Katara said, smiling. "I understand. See you at training tomorrow?" 

"You bet!" the first one said. The two guards walked away, talking and laughing as they went.

"Hey Katara!" said Toph as the waterbender walked towards she and Aang. "Glad to see you're okay!"

"Thanks, Toph," said Katara. "I'm fine. Lee and Chen wouldn't be too rough with me." Aang noticed that she glanced at him once while she and Toph were talking. Was that a good thing?

"Katara," said Toph. "I want you to meet the newest member of the Yen Haters Association, the Avatar, and your savior, Aang!"

An introduction. This is what he had been waiting for! A chance to meet her! At last!

She looked up at him and met his eyes, and he seemed to drown in those pools of blue.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Katara."

Her voice was soft and gentle, a reflection of herself. It was warm and inviting, always welcoming. How she came to be friends with the ever-so-loud Toph, he could never guess.

He felt a nudge in his chest. "Twinkle Toes, you gonna say something or what?" Toph said.

"Oh, uh…" Aang blushed. How awful – he was already embarrassing himself! "I'm Aang. _Just_ Aang. I hate being called anything else, really, but that doesn't stop Toph from calling me Twinkle Toes! But, uh, yeah, I'm just… Aang."

Katara giggled; it was such a pretty sound to Aang's ears.

"Well, just Aang," she said. Aang blushed again. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."

Aang grinned. It had finally happened. They had met! He swelled with happiness at just the thought. Katara, too, had a sweet smile on her face, looking up at him.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Toph mocked. "Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen are in _looove_!"

Aang flushed and he saw Katara did as well. She then scowled and looked as if she was about to say something, but was interrupted by Toph saying, "Whatever! So Twinkle Toes, wanna come to town with us?"

"Oh, yeah!" Katara said, forgetting about the prior incident completely. "We could go to lunch somewhere. Would that be okay?"

She looked up at him with innocent and joyful eyes, smiling. Aang couldn't help but smile with her, and said, "Yes, that'd be… I'd like that."

"Great!" said Toph. "Let's go now, before Yen comes out and ruins our fun, as per usual." She rolled her unseeing eyes.

"Yes, let's," Katara quickly agreed. "Before I get almost-arrested again!" She laughed with Toph at her own comment, but slowly stopped, turning back to the avatar. "Thank you, by the way…" she said carefully. "I owe you so much." 

"It was nothing, really," Aang said, turning a bit crimson from the compliment. It was odd… so many people told him thanks for saving the world, saving a village, saving a life, but this was different, somehow. Hearing all those other comments made him uncomfortable and he hated hearing the same thing over and over again. But coming from Katara, it was nice. It made him bubble up in joy inside, and he loved the feeling. "I did it because I wanted to."

He didn't know why he said that last sentence of his, but it seemed to have an effect. He saw Katara's face turn slightly pink against her tan skin.

"Okay, we said out thanks, blah, blah, now let's go!" Toph yelled impatiently.

Katara smiled at the stubbornness of her friend and followed after her, humming a sort of lullaby that Aang couldn't recognize. He quickly realized that if he didn't start soon, he'd be left behind. He ran after the two girls, finally reaching their pace, and struck up conversation with the two…

…but not before noticing how Katara's hips swayed rather gracefully from side to side.

A/N: Here it is! Sooner than I thought I'd get it up, actually. I'm surprised I was even able to type this up! See, my twin, boy, eight-year old cousins are staying with me for the ENTIRE WEEK. Scary, huh? My bathroom now wreaks of little boys which I'm totally not used to. Oh, and guess whose room they're staying in? MINE. With ME in it! AND my SISTER, just cuz she wants to be in there! Ugh. So I've been having to keep them occupied with video games (in which I have to play), Avatar DVDs (they love Avatar too!! XD), and food. I ALSO have to keep them from fighting each other every other second, and I'm NOT talking about name calling. I'm talking about flat-out wrestling. And with all this being said…

REVIEW OR ELSE I'LL GET SOKKA TO POKE YOU REPEATEDLY!!

Sokka: Well… it sounds fun… I'll do it!

Me: Yay! :D

Tangy


	5. Cafe by the Bridge

A/N: Okay, I did some debating, and I picked to type up the next Separated We Are chapter rather than the next Sokka's Diary entry. I haven't really planned out where I'm going from here, so… here we go…

Ooh… I seriously haven't updated this story since JULY?! I am so sorry! SOOO sorry! I just haven't found much time to write and all, but since it's the holidays, I have all this free time, so… anyway… Sokka shows up in this chapter! Yay!! :D

**BTW:** It was brought to my attention in a Perfectly Piratical review that people think I'm copying other people's work…? I'd like to say here that I've NEVER done anything like that! If you think I've done something along the lines, you can message me about it. I would definitely like to clear things up, because… well, I would never copy another author's work. That's like cheating at school! And… yeah…

Disclaimer: Sokka: You think she owns 'Avatar'?! HA! That's a laugh!

Me: Your FACE is a laugh!

Sokka: -gasp- Your MOM is a laugh!

Me: -bigger gasp- Your MOM'S MOM is a laugh!

Sokka: -even bigger gasp- You better not be talkin' 'bout my Gran Gran!

Separated We Are

Chapter 4

Aang, Katara, and Toph all strolled around the city looking for a place to eat. They laughed and talked along the way, and Aang found that he rather enjoyed talking to people… well, informally. When he talked with all the high-and-mighties, he was expected to take things seriously, never joke, stay on topic, keep focus, but here with his new friends, something he had never experienced much before, he could laugh and talk about anything they wanted to.

He also learned about Katara, which was surely not a bad way to spend the day. Like, for instance, her favorite color was surprisingly not blue but green, because it reminded her of the grass that she rarely got to see. She and her brother, Sokka, only went out of the South Pole once a year for the New Year's festival and she loved sitting in the grass while watching the fireworks in the night sky.

She wasn't trained to be a healer like most women waterbenders, either. Katara was a fighter, and she liked it that way. What she didn't like was that she was discriminated against by the women of the tribe because of it. The men, at least, respected her for her talent and skill.

Aang smiled. He had never before met a female fighter until he met Katara and Toph.

The three settled for a small café-like place by a river that ran through the city. It was Toph's favorite place to eat when she visited, she had told Aang. She whispered in his ear, "But you might want to steer clear of the stewed sea prunes."

Walking inside, they sat at a table in the corner of the café by a small window that looked over the rippling water. A waitress came by to ask for their order, all the while looking at the tattoos on Aang's head. Aang began to feel uncomfortable with her staring and started shifting in his seat, worried she would say something about him. But she merely took their orders and left for the kitchen.

"Mr. Popularity, eh, Twinkle Toes?" Toph laughed.

Aang turned crimson. "I suppose so," he said, fiddling with his thumbs.

Katara furrowed her brows. "Doesn't that kind of thing get… annoying?"

Aang sighed in relief and slumped in his chair. _"Yes,"_ he answered. "Nobody ever understands that."

Katara laughed. Aang noted how cute and bell-like it was.

Her laughter stopped suddenly and was immediately replaced with a sigh as a man appeared at their table.

"Hey, Katara," he said, attempting to be suave but not quite succeeding.

"Peng," Katara answered unenthusiastically.

"So, how's it going?"

Katara put her head in her hand and placed her elbow on the table. "I'm fine, Peng."

"I was thinking…" Peng started.

"Were you?"

"Maybe you'd like to come over to my table and grab a bite?" he asked.

Toph was trying to hide her silent laughter.

Aang was burning with anger. What – what was this guy doing? Asking Katara to go and eat with him… it shouldn't have made him so angry, but it _did._ It made him madder than he had ever been before. It was an insanely powerful rage.

He didn't quite know why, though. He obviously had feelings for Katara, but he had just met her…

He remembered that Iroh had known the reason for this feeling. What was it, what was it…?

It couldn't possibly be that… that Aang was in love with Katara?

"I'm good, Peng." Katara said in a monotone.

No, it couldn't be! He had just met her only an hour ago!

But it had seemed to be so much longer… And about the crowd! She hadn't looked away either, had she? Was Aang in love? Was he really in love??

"You sure? We could go to my place afterwards, and-"

"No, Peng, I'm sure."

Peng took a hold of Katara's wrist. "Come on, you'll have fun. You'll see. Now, let's…"

Peng trailed off as he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to find a tall, tanned man only about two or three years older than Aang. He had muscles, but not so much that he was a walking monster. His hair was long and went to his shoulders with a few beads in it, and he went sleeveless, even in the freezing, Southern weather. Aang spotted his blue eyes and knew it was Sokka.

"Peng," he said. "I've had this conversation with you a few times too many."

"Sokka," Peng said, eyes wide, "I-"

"I've heard it plenty of times before," Sokka interrupted. He brought his face dangerously close to Peng's. "I'm telling you, kid, if you _ever_ bother my sister again with your crap, I'll personally boomerang you into oblivion. Get it?"

"Got it," Peng said before quickly running out of the café, nearly slipping on the ice as he went.

Toph finally burst out into hysterics.

"It's not funny, Toph!" Katara nearly shouted. "Every single day…"

"And it just gets funnier," the blind girl laughed.

"It's annoying is what it is," Sokka said. "How can he – hey, could you move over, buddy?"

Aang nodded and scooted over so that the man could sit down."

"Thanks," Sokka said. "So as I was saying, he-"

He stopped talking and seemed to finally realize that Aang was there. He snapped his head to look at him, a confused expression on his face.

"Who are you?"

"Sokka, this is Aang," Katara said, motioning to the airbender. "Aang, this is Sokka, my over-protective brother." She turned to him. "Seriously, there's no need to scare Peng like that, not that I'm not grateful for it."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Sokka chanted. "Aang. As in Avatar Aang?" He looked at Aang again. "And you're eating with us, because…?"

"I invited him, Sokka," Katara said rolling her eyes.

"I see…" Sokka said, looking thoughtful. He suddenly squinted his eyes and glared at the Avatar. "And just what are your intentions with my sister?"

"Sokka!"

"What?! I don't trust him. Look at him, he's totally suspicious!"

Toph began a whole new wave of laughter.

"What's so funny?!" shrieked Sokka.

"You think that Twinkle Toes over here is gonna harm Sweetness? Please."

"He might!"

"And what would you do if he did? 'Boomerang him into oblivion'?"

"Yes, yes I would!"

"Is that seriously the best threat you can think of?"

"No! I have better, but why would I waste my good ones on Peng?"

"Because you don't have any others?"

The two continued their bickering rather loudly. Aang became uncomfortable again. Of course, he would never harm Katara. But he wouldn't mind holding her or stroking her hair or kissing her…

Looking over at where Katara was sitting just a minute ago, he was surprised to find that she wasn't there. He began to scan the restaurant, looking for the braided, chocolate hair, when he felt a tug on his leg. Confused, he looked under the table to see Katara motioning him under.

He glanced at Toph and Sokka once more.

"Okay, who's the one who named the Combustion Man, one of the baddest of the bad? Oh, yeah, that was ME!"

"Ooh, impressive, Snoozles. You named a _dead bad guy._ Should I start bowing down to you now, or after you kill the already dead villain?"

"He was alive when I named him!"

"And do you remember what you had first named him?"

"…I don't wanna talk about it."

This fight didn't seem to be ending any time soon. They probably wouldn't even notice if he was gone…

Ah. That's what Katara was doing.

He slipped under that table as inconspicuously as he could. Katara tilted her head slightly, motioning to the door. Aang nodded more violently than he had meant to and earned a giggle from Katara. Taking his hand, they almost ran out of the restaurant.

Once outside, they found themselves strolling over to the bridge, laughing as they went.

"Your brother is quite a piece of work," Aang said.

"Yes, sorry about that." Katara laughed nervously. "He just worries a lot because our dad left a couple years ago to go help the Earth Kingdom, so he feels like he's the only man around to 'protect me'."

Aang wondered if he would ask the question on his mind, and finally deciding to, he said, "What about your mother?" 

Katara became downcast. "She, um… she died when I was little. From some disease that I can't even pronounce. All I know is, her lungs died on her and I was left motherless." Her dainty fingers reached up and touched the necklace around her neck; Aang guessed it was once her mother's.

It was quiet between them for a moment. Aang was sorry that he had brought up such an awful subject. He hoped that her beautiful eyes wouldn't begin to tear.

Suddenly, he became very aware that he was holding something. He looked down and found Katara's hands in his. They hadn't let go since they had left the restaurant. He was surprised that she hadn't let go. He felt like he should – she probably didn't want his hand in hers – but he didn't. He liked the feel of her small hand in his, her soft skin touching his own. It was… nice.

Katara looked down, too. Noticing Aang's shocked expression, she let go. "Oh," she said flushing. "I'm sorry, Aang. I didn't even realize…"

Aang, wanting the feeling back, took her hand. "No, no," he said. "It's okay."

She smiled up at him with her gorgeous smile and Aang felt himself do the same.

"Aang…" Katara began. "This morning… when you arrived here… I don't know, I just felt like I've known you for so much longer than I have. I mean, I only just met you today… Am I crazy?"

"Of course not!" Aang said, relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling the same way. "To be honest, I've gotten the same impression." He took Katara's other hand with his own. "I've felt as if I've known you for a lifetime. I feel… connected to you."

"But how is that even possible? We just met this morning."

"I already know so much about you, though." Aang answered.

"And I know about you, too. I mean, not everything, I suppose, but still."

"We practically left Toph out of the conversation this morning."

"Well, I think we did. Which is funny, because normally she would have said something."

Aang silently thanked Toph.

They stood in silence.

"I'm not sure at all what's going on," Katara finally said. "But I know that there's something between us. And I want to find out what it is."

"How will we do that?"

Katara shook her head and dropped Aang's hands. "I don't know. This is so new to me." She looked into Aang's eyes. "I've never felt like this about anyone before."

"Me, too." Aang found himself whispering as he looked into Katara's deep, blue orbs.

And they were suddenly leaning in towards each other.

A/N: I could go on. But I won't. Mwahaha. LOL, sorry, but this was the best way I could think of to end the chapter, so you can accurately assume that they kissed. X)

So, uh, yeah, I typed this up pretty quickly… Weird. It only took me about… -counts in head- 5 or 6 hours? Around there. But more importantly, about this chapter.

I only had the very beginning of this chapter written, so I had to come up with what happened after that this morning. I know Aang and Katara are falling in love rather quickly, but that's the POINT. They're so perfect for each other and they're so in love and it's one of those love-at-first-sight things where you kind of have the idea that you're in love but you're not quite sure and then you figure it out, and… yeah.

But who knows what they'll do about their kiss? Hmm? Ooh, cliffhanger… y'know, sort of…

REVIEW!! OR I'LL HAVE SOKKA PLAY THAT LITTLE MANDOLIN, GUITAR-Y THINGMABOB!!

Everybody: Gasp! NOOOOOO!!!!!!

Sokka: What?! I can totally play that little mandolin, guitar-y thing! And I can play it GOOD!!

Me: …No, no, you really can't.

Sokka: Yes, I - …yeah, you're right.

Tangy

P.S. The Toph and Sokka fight? Funnest thing to write EVER!


	6. Am I Dreaming?

A/N: Kay, so, I'm figuring that people are either going to shoot me or hug me to death once they see this…

Hugs please? :D

So… here it is… finally… 7 months since the last update… yeah…

…_I'm such a horrible person!! Dx_ -crying- Can I blame the fact that I was super busy and I couldn't update THIS fic in particular because this is always one of my hardest to write and I never had much time! And now, even though it's flipping _summer,_ I'm as busy as ever – four birthdays this month, birthday party at the river for 6 frickin' hours last month, English honors project to do, driver's ed… GAH! Marching band camp is at the beginning of next month, theatre camp for a couple of days, and then BOOM! It's school again! And… and…

I'm sorry. I'm ranting. Stress makes ya rant. Anyways… I hope this is worth the wait! The very, very long wait…

p.s. I was reading the last chapter and I realized that I said something about a Perfectly Piratical review, but it was actually a review from Malls, Madness, and Murder. Thought I'd clear that up.

Disclaimer: Take it away, Sokka!

Sokka: -steals Aang's new fancy-pants airbender necklace-

Aang: Wha?! My new airbender monk necklace that I got randomly from seemingly nowhere at all and only to be seen in the final minutes of the last episode of the series?! _Nooooooooooo!! _-cries-

Me: Sokka!

Sokka: But you said –

Me: The _disclaimer,_ stupid!

Sokka: Fine, fine… but you have to admit, this is a pretty cool necklace.

Me: I – well, yeah, it is.

Sokka: Tangy doesn't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Uh… the end. Of the disclaimer. …Yeah.

**Separated We Are**

Chapter 5

A week passed. Katara and Aang found themselves on what they called _their_ bridge more and more often.

"_Do you know that you're beautiful, Katara?"_

"_Only because you told me just a minute ago."_

"_I just want to make sure you know."_

Another week passed. The two lovers decided to tell Sokka and Toph of their secret.

"What?! _This – this is blasphemy! Mutiny! I'm getting punk'd or somethin', right? A recount! I demand a recount!"_

"_Recount of _what, _exactly?"_

"_Are you being serious, Ponytail? You, Sokka, "almighty warrior", did not know that the only female fighter in the South Pole and the Avatar were having a secret love affair? I'm the blind one, here. _I'm _supposed to be the one who doesn't notice things."_

"_Well –"_

"_Then again, I guess I wasn't accounting for your unawareness of everything around you due to your small attention span and pea-sized brain."_

"_Hey! No – stop laughing! That was _not _funny! And what were the air quotes around "almighty warrior" for, anyway? I'm mighty!"_

Two more weeks flew by, a month since they had first met. Aang decided to tell Katara what he knew he had been feeling since he first laid eyes on her.

"_Do you know that I love you, Katara?"_

"…_I do now."_

"_I just wanted to make sure you knew."_

"_Well, I'm making sure you that know I love you, too."_

"…_I'm so, so glad you said that."_

And so, it was decided. Aang, the divine Avatar, and Katara, a peasant of the Southern Water Tribe, were in love.

It was the same thing every day. Aang would avoid Princess Yen at all costs (not that it was easy. A lot of times, she would somehow find him and he would have to put up with her fawning. It was not an enjoyable experience, to say the least). He would have meetings with Iroh, Jeong Jeong, and Long Feng about his future bride, insisting that it would not be Yen.

He did not, however, mention Katara.

Aang's advisors would not be happy for him or excited that he had found himself love – especially Long Feng. He, more than the others, would not approve. Aang knew he had to confess to his love for Katara, though, if he wanted a future for she and him – which he did. And it would have to be soon or else he would be shipped away once more, in search for another princess to marry or worse – he would be wed to _Yen._

Also in his daily routine, though, was Aang's sneaking out of the palace with Toph to eat a usually late lunch at the café with Katara and Sokka before sneaking away with Katara to their bridge until he had to go back in the prison-like palace. There, he and Toph would talk about many things until late at night. He would go to sleep and then his day would start all over again.

And each day, Aang became more and more excited about seeing Katara at their afternoon rendezvous.

He loved her. He was absolutely sure of it. Nothing else could make people feel this way, nothing this… _delighted_ or _giddy._ There was something inside of him that was indescribable, something he had tried to put into words once before and couldn't quite find the right phrase. And isn't that what he had always heard love was? Indescribable? Like a dream?

That was surely what this all was. A dream. Aang assumed he would wake up any minute now in his bed and sheets, in the grand place where he stayed with his advisors, tears threatening to fall because it had been the loveliest illusion his subconscious had ever dreamt up, a dream that he would always want back but never would get.

But every time he held Katara's delicate hand, every time she hugged him and he could feel her warmth, every time he held her close in the chilly air, every time he kissed her, Aang knew it was real. Nothing in a dream could come close to being so fantastic. Her smooth skin, her soft hair, her pink lips, her warmth… it was far too exhilarating to be a figment of his imagination.

Two months had gone by, every day spent with Katara.

It was on an ordinary day that Aang found himself at the café by the bridge for lunch with Sokka, Katara, and Toph as was the usual routine. He and Toph walked in and quickly found Katara and Sokka waiting for them in a table by a window. As Toph plopped herself down next to Sokka as she pulled on his wolf tail (_"Hey!" _"Hay is for sky bison."), Aang slipped into the seat next to Katara as he took her hand and said, "Hi, Katara, Sokka."

"Aang, buddy!" Sokka greeted. The warrior had grown quite fond of Aang over the past two months, for which the avatar was grateful, and Aang had become fond of Sokka as well. "Where ya been all my life?"

Aang responded cheekily. "Down the street, you take a left, and when you come to a –"

"All right, Mr. Avatar, I didn't mean _literally."_

Aang laughed, and as he did so, he felt Katara lean into him, their hands still linked under the table. He sighed. _This_ was what paradise was.

And just like that, his paradise began to crumble.

As Sokka began a tale of how he really _had_ trained with Master Piandao while the master had been vacationing at the South Pole, Aang's eyes began to wander around the room, and in doing so noticed three particular men entering the café.

Jeong Jeong, Long Feng, and Iroh were there. In the café. While Aang was there. With Katara. Who he was in love with. Even though he was supposed to be searching for a noble wife. Not someone like Katara. Who his advisors didn't know about.

This was not good in the slightest. And despite himself, Aang began to panic.

_Am I dreaming, _he thought. _I must be dreaming. A nightmare. That's what this is. A cruel, cruel nightmare._

But it wasn't.

Aang needed to get out of there, with Toph and Sokka and Katara if he could. But he couldn't find the ability to move. It seemed that his secret, his wonderful secret, was about to fall to pieces around him. Soon his advisors would know about him sneaking out of the castle and –

Oh, spirits. Aang only just then realized that he had not told Katara about his advisors. Or about how they didn't know about her. Or about how they probably would not approve of them being together.

He hoped that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Aang needed to tell Katara about – wait! He was supposed to be escaping! If his advisors found him, there wouldn't be much time to explain to her everything he had been hiding.

He finally heard his name being said. Aang looked at Katara. "Yes?"

Katara gave him a worried look. "Are you all right? You seem kind of dazed."

"Yes," Aang said, looking back to the three men now seated at a table. "Yes, I'm fine. Of course. But, uh…"

The avatar was shocked silent as Iroh turned to meet Aang's eyes.

He couldn't breathe. The fear was swelling inside of him, consuming him. Was this what drowning felt like?

And to his utter surprise, the old man merely winked and turned around.

Aang was surely having a heart attack.

He heard Iroh say to the other elders at his table, "My goodness. Have you ever seen a more beautiful sight than that out the window?"

As all three spun to observe the window's view, Aang took it as his cue to exit.

"Come on, let's go outside! I'm not all that hungry, anyways, so –"

"Speak for yourself!" Toph shouted.

"Yeah, are you crazy?" Sokka questioned. "I'm starving! There's no way I'm leaving until I get some food in this ol' pal of mine." He patted his stomach.

"Aang," Katara stated. She looked particularly worried now. "Are you _sure_ you're okay? Is something bothering you?"

"No, of _course_ not!" Aang said, his voice entering a higher octave. He stood up, motioning the three to leave unsuccessfully. "I'm just fine, and I'll be even better if we _leave."_

Katara's brows were furrowed, her eyes curious to his behavior. Sokka had his hands flat on the table and gazed up at him as if he was insane. Toph had her arms crossed, an eyebrow quirked.

They weren't moving.

This was bad. If Aang didn't get them out of there, his advisors would surely –

"_Avatar Aang!!"_

Aang stiffened. He refused to turn around. That voice could belong to only one.

Long Feng.

o-o-o-o

A/N: Yay! Done with this chapter! I know it was rather boring. Mainly a filler, as you can see. At first, I was going to have them leave the restaurant and have the advisors find Aang outside the café, but then I realized, "They're starving. Why the heck would they want to leave??"

Yay for mushy Kataang fluff! xD

I hope this was worth the wait, everyone! Once again, I'm TERRIBLY SORRY about the extremely long wait! And with this being said…

**REVIEW!! OR ELSE SOKKA WILL JUMP OFF A CLIFF!!!**

Sokka: Why would I jump off a cliff?

Me: Who's to say? Maybe there's cooked possum-chicken down there…

Sokka: OMG NO WAYS!! Are you sure?

Me: Maybe I am… maybe I'm not.

Sokka: …Huh?

Save a life. Review. Sokka's counting on you all!

Tangy


	7. Long Feng

A/N: Yes, yes, it HAS been a while. I'd like to take the time then to truly apologize to everyone who's been waiting for this chapter along with my other previous chapters. I know I have a lot of readers for this story, and to those of you who haven't given up the hope of me updating, I thank you. Thanks for sticking with it, because I know I haven't been doing a good job keeping up this story, or any of my others for that matter.

Speaking of which, I'm thinking of putting 'Perfectly Piratical' on hiatus. There aren't many people that read it, and to be honest, it's not as good as my other stuff. I think it's because I had it all planned out. You'd think that would make it better than my others, but I think that I'm so worried about getting my plot points to go right that I'm focusing less on the characters, and that's not good at all. But anyways, onto what we've all been waiting for!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar!

Sokka: And what ELSE do you not own?

Me: …Was there something else I was supposed to say?

Sokka: Oh! I, uh… no, because it's not like I was trying to make you feel bad… or anything… nope…

**Separated We Are**

Chapter 6

Aang slowly turned, his eyes shut tight. Once he had turned towards Long Feng's general direction, he risked a peek. Long Feng was silently fuming mere feet away from him. Jeong Jeong just glared solemnly. Iroh sat wide-eyed, looking left and right, hoping nothing too out of hand would happen in such a public place.

"_What_ are you doing here?" Long Feng growled. "Among_ peasants?"_

"Hey –" Sokka began, but was cut off by a sharp pain in his rib as Toph elbowed him. Now was not the time to argue.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you're doing? Any idea of how this could ruin your reputation, _our _reputation, Avatar? You_ fool!"_

"Long Feng," Iroh said, placing a hand on Long Feng's shoulder. "Don't you think we should give Avatar Aang a chance to explain?"

Long Feng glared at Iroh, but crossed his arms and looked at Aang. "Tell us, then, Avatar, why you are here conversing with peasants when you _should_ be at the palace."

Aang couldn't bring himself to tell him about Katara yet. He needed to start with something small, and ease him in some. "I can't stay in the palace all day. I have to get out of there sometimes, not to mention, like we've been talking about, I can't stay in a room with Yen for more than five minutes much less all day –"

"You will _not_ talk about royalty that way!" Long Feng yelled. Aang flinched.

"And…" Aang thought about what to say next. "Toph is nobility. She's here, see?"

Long Feng merely looked at Toph with disgust. Toph couldn't see his expression, but she had never liked Long Feng so she glared back at him.

"_What are you doing here?"_ Long Feng asked in a fierce whisper.

Aang looked around at the others in the restaurant, now looking on in interest and possibly fear of the shouting advisor. He looked at Toph who nodded at him, silently telling him that it was time to tell the truth. He looked at Sokka, who looked back with confusion in his eyes, gesturing to Aang's advisors. And then he looked at Katara whose eyes kept asking him question after question.

Aang took a deep breath. He was the avatar. He was meant to be brave. He could do this.

"I'm here, because I refuse to marry Yen or any other member of high society."

"_What?!"_ Jeong Jeong and Long Feng both exclaimed. Aang saw Iroh give him a nod, and he narrowed his eyes at the advisors he'd grown up with.

He stood up. "I've snuck out of the palace nearly every day since we've been here. I've experienced a culture I've never seen before. I learned what people are like and what they want and how they live. I've discovered friendship which you've never let me have before, because I wasn't allowed to be young – I could only work and do as my idiot advisors told me to! I'm not doing what you tell me to anymore. All you ever did was boss me around; you never truly helped me with anything! Well, I can be the avatar on my own. I can be my own person."

Aang gestured towards Katara. "This is Katara… And I love her with every fiber of my being. If you don't like it, though, well… I don't care. You can't stop me."

Sokka and Toph timidly clapped before seeing the look on the advisor's face. Long Feng was seething by now. He looked at Katara. "You…" he said with ice in his voice. "You're the female warrior, the one that should be healing or cooking and cleaning. You ungrateful witch, what do you think you're –"

"_Don't_ talk to her like that!" Aang yelled at him. He was about to say more, but Katara stood up.

"Aang," she said. "You… you didn't tell them about me – about us."

Aang's eyes widened and his breathing became faster.

"Were you – ashamed of me?"

"No!" Aang screamed, taking her hand. "No, Katara, I love you more than anything, _anything! _It's just that I knew they wouldn't let us be together. I knew they wouldn't approve, but I realized what's important, and I don't care about their opinions anymore."

Katara slowly nodded. "Okay. If you're absolutely positive…" She proceeded to swing her leg around, lifting Long Feng's legs out from under him, making him fall to the ground with a thump.

"Who should be cooking and cleaning now?" she spat at him.

Long Feng pushed himself off the ground. "Foolish girl," he said. "First you corrupt the avatar with your peasant beliefs, and then you assault me?" He pulled out the earth he carried up his sleeves for such occasions and before anyone could think about what was happening, Katara's wrists were bound by rock.

"What are you doing?!" Aang yelled, trying to bend the earth away as Katara struggled. Sokka stood up angrily and Toph, too, tried to free Katara from her bonds, but Long Feng held it strong. "You can't do this, let her go!"

"There's no need for this, Long Feng," Iroh said. "Jeong Jeong will agree with me."

Jeong Jeong was silent, but finally answered, "It… is for the best, I think."

Aang tried and tried to break the bonds, but Long Feng's hold was too strong. He was shoved to the ground by Long Feng who grabbed Katara and began to drag her out of the café. Katara, her waterbending useless, could only thrash about more, shouting "Let me go!"

"Stop!" Aang yelled. "Where are you taking her?"

"She's being arrested, on the grounds of assaulting a noble." Katara began to struggle more.

Aang was furious. He lunged for Long Feng, but Jeong Jeong grabbed him and held him back.

"Let go of me!" he growled at him. "Jeong Jeong, you know this is wrong. Don't let Long Feng do this, let me go after him!"

His advisor merely shook his head. "If it weren't for the best, Long Feng wouldn't be doing it."

Toph wanted to do something, but without any earth, she was useless. Sokka took out his boomerang and threw it with all his might at Long Feng's head, but Long Feng caught it in hand and threw it on the ground.

"Nice try," he smirked. Sokka glared and pounced, but Jeong Jeong threw out his leg, stopping Sokka in his flight.

Iroh formed fire in the palm of his hand. "I'm warning you, Long Feng. Let her go, or you'll regret it dearly."

"If you even touch me," Long Feng countered, "you'll be on a boat back to the Fire Nation faster than you can blink. Then what use would you be to the Avatar? After all, he severely needs help."

Iroh glared, but sighed and extinguished the fire.

Aang was still fighting to be free from Jeong Jeong's grasp, nearly in tears. Long Feng smirked at him. "With _her_ in jail and out of your life forever, maybe you'll realize what's truly important, Avatar. Hard work. Discipline. Power. People who are _worth_ your time." He heaved Katara out of the restaurant with him.

Aang shouted after her. "I'm sorry, Katara! I'll fix this, I swear!" His head sagged and with Jeong Jeong still holding him tightly, he whispered more to himself than anyone, "I'll fix this."

A/N: Heh… so, anyone hate me yet? Cliffhanger… lack of updates… anyways.

Anyone else feel like this chapter is really short? There wasn't much to put in it, really. I just needed Katara to get arrested. Poor Katara. People keep wanting to put her in jail.

Jeong Jeong is having difficulty deciding what to do. Aww.

I wrote this chapter pretty fast, actually. Yay me! I'm not sure if I really like it, though. Yeah… I'm pretty sure I don't. But, it's been too long since I've updated, and it's going up! :D

And now… **REVIEW!! OR HAWKY WILL EAT ALL YOUR MUFFINS! BIT. BY. BIT!**

Sokka: Gasp! The horror!

Me: I know, right?


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